Folding wardrobe



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-'Sheet 1.

W. B. MANNING. FOLDINGV WARDROBL` No. 498,804. Patented June 6, 1898.

(No Model.) v 2 sheetssheet 2.

W. B. MANN l FOLDING WARD No. 498,804. Patented June 6, 1893.

Unirse STATES PATENT OFFICE.

VILLIAM B. MANNING, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

FOLDING wARDRoBE.

SIPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 498,804, dated June 6, 1893. Application filed January 7, 1893. Serial No. 457,676. (No model.)

.To all whom it may concern.-

Beit known that I, WILLIAM B. MANNING, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois,have invented certain newand useful Improvements in Folding Wardrobes; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements lin folding wardrobes or portable closets. Y

The object of the invention is to provide a wardrobe or closet the parts of which are adapted to be connectedly folded into the least y practical compass or space for being moved or transported, and which maybe unfolded and set up for use in the most expeditious manner, and which is also adapted to be manufactured at small cost. I attain this object by the novel combination, construction and arrangement of parts, which are fully described and set forth in the following specifcation and claims and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which` Figure 1 is a front elevation of myimproved Wardrobe or closet in an unfolded position adapted to be used. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is a vertical section taken on the line 3. 3. of Fig. 1. Fig. iis a top end or plan view in a position to be used. Fig. 5 is an end View when the parts are folded. Fig. 6 is also an end View showing a modified form of my improved Wardrobe. Fig. 7 is a detached view showing the attachment of the shelves to the sides and corner pieces. Figs. 8 and 9 are detail views of the locking or connecting irons for the same. Fig. 10 is a side elevation of the bracket or hook as attached to the inside of the wardrobe; and Figs. 1l,

12, 13 and 14 are detail views of the same and are readily understood.

Referring to the drawings, 1 designates the back of the Wardrobe or closet made or formed of matched boards fastened solidly together by means of the battens or cleats 2 to which the back boards are secured in the usual manner, the ends of the battens and edges of the back being finished with side strips 3.

4 are shelves which are hinged to the said battens or back, and are adapted to be folded said sides.

down against the back, to an even plane with thefront face of the battens and side strips as shown by dotted li nesin Fig.3. Said shelves are extended horizontally at a right angle to the back When the wardrobe is set up for use, and are made the proper shape to form the inside of the wardrobe or closet, and are secured to the sides and corners of the wardrobe by means of the hook irons 10 attached thereto.

5 are the sides of the wardrobe which are hinged to the strips 3 of the back, and are adapted to be closed inward, the inside faces thereof lying against the battons and shelves when said parts are in a closed or folded position. i V

6 are the front corner pieces connecting the sides and doors, the angle and width of which are determined by the desired proportions of the Wardrobe. Said corners are hinged to the sides and adapted to be turned outward thereon, the outside faces of said corner pieces being brought against the outside faces of the Said sides and corners are provided With the hinged locking irons 11, by which they are secured to the said shelves. 7 are the doors of the wardrobe. Said doors are adapted to be hinged to the corner pieces by means of double acting hinges, one part of said hinges being adapted to operate for the purpose of opening the doors, and the other part of saidhinges adapted to operate to fold the inside faces of the doors fiat against the inside faces of the said corner pieces. f Said doors are provided with the usual fastenings by which they are held closed.

l0 are cast hook plates which are solidly attached to the shelves of the wardrobe.

11 are cast plates secured to the sides and corner pieces of the Wardrobe, and are provided With a hinged T bar 12. Said hinged bar is adapted to be supported by said cast plate at a right angle thereto, and is adapted to iit into said hook plate and to lock the parts together. Said hinged bar is also adapted to be turned up into the recess 13 when the Wardrobe is folded up. A

14 is the clothes bracket or hook which is provided with the ear projection 15 through which is inserted, or formed integral therewith the pin 16.

17 is a cast plate which is secured to the inside parts of thewardrobe. Said plate has a rectangular slot through its face adapted for the insertion of said ear projection upon the bracket, and is also provided with two projecting prongs 18, slightly inclined, and behind which said pins are adapted to be pushed down t0 draw the brackets against the inside face of the wardrobe, and from which they may readily be detached.

All the pieces attached to the shelves and inclosing parts are let in flush so that the several parts lie flat together when folded.

In the modification shown in Fig. 6 the folding principle is identical with that already described,the modification consisting chiefly in the shape or form of the closet, which is that of a heXagon, and which requires the hinging of the triangular pieces 19 to the ends of the shelves, in order to adapt the shelves to be folded or closed down, the said triangular pieces being folded to lie between the shelves and back in folding up the wardrobe or closet, which necessitates making this form of closet to consist of one fold or thickness more, when all the parts are folded, than in the form first described.

From the foregoing description, the practical use and operation, or manner of folding up and of unfolding the wardrobe will be clearly seen and understood. The doors are adapted to be closed and locked together precisely the same when the parts are folded together, as when they are unfolded and in practical use. This result,and the underlying principle of the folding will be seen from an inspection of the drawings, and consists in making the width of the sides and the corner pieces such, that when the outside faces cf said pieces are folded or turned one against the other, and the sides then folded or turned down to and against the shelves (which arev first turned down to the back for the purpose) that the distance between the hinges on the corner pieces to which the doors are hinged shall be the same as when the sides and corner pieces are in an open or unfolded position, and which distance is the width of the doors.

It will be observed that the front of the wardrobe or closet when folded, has a finished appearance as the visible parts of the sides are the finished outside parts, and the doors are the finished fronts likewise.

The invention as described is adapted to form a desirable and useful article of household furniture, and especially so in the large cities, where the movings are frequent and the passages narrow and obstructed, asit can be quickly and conveniently folded into a small compass to be moved from house to house, or from room to room, and as quickly unfolded and set up for use.

The adaptation of the locking irons for se-v curing the sides and corners to the shelves, and the means adapted for the attachment of the hooks are a desirable feature of my in-v vention, as by their use all the parts may be fold ed solidly together into the smallest space, and are firmly held together thereby when unfolded and set up for use.

The invention is adapted to be manufactured at small cost and to be given as ornate an appearance as may be desired.

I amaware that wardrobes have been in-` vented, the parts of which are adapted to be separated, or detached one from the other, and folded, or `bundled together for transportation. My invention consists in hinging the parts connectedly together, and in the successive, or consecutive folding of the parts, and in the means adapted for securing the parts together when unfolded, and in a position adapted to be used as a wardrobe.

Having thus fullydescribed my invention, I claiml 1. In a folding wardrobe or closet the combination of the back 1 provided with the battens 2 and side strips 3 solidly attached to said back, the shelves 4 hinged to said back or battens and adapted to be folded against said back, the sides 5 hinged to said strips and adapted to be folded inward against said shelves, the corner pieces 6 hinged to and adapted to fold outward against said sides and the doors 7 connected to said corner pieces' by double acting hinges and adapted to swing outward from said corner pieces in being opened and to fold inward against said corner pieces when the parts are to be folded, the width of said sides and cornerpieces and the degree of angle at which said corner pieces stand when the parts are unfolded being such that the doors are adapted to be locked together precisely the same in either position, substantially as specified.

2. The combination in a folding wardrobe or closet, of the hook castings 10 solidly attached to the shelves 4, the hinge plate casting 11 solidly attached to the sides 5, and corner pieces 6, and provided with the Tbar 12 hinged thereto, said bar adapted to interlock with said hook plate, and to hold said parts of the wardrobe firmly united, said bar also adapted to be turned up into the recess 13, when the wardrobe is to be folded up, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

3. In a folding wardrobe or closet, the combination comprising the back 1, provided with the battens 2, and side strips 3 solidly attached to said back, the shelves 4, hinged to 'said back or battens, and adapted to be folded against said back, the sides 5 hinged to said side strips and adapted to be folded inward against said shelves, the angle corner pieces 6, hinged to said sides, and adapted to turn outward and to fold against said sides, the doors 7, hinged to said angle corner pieces and adapted to be folded inward against said corner pieces, the triangular pieces 19 hinged to the said shelves and IOO IIO

adapted to be folded against said shelves, the

` hook plate casting 10, the hinge plate 11,and casting, substantially as and for the purpose hinged T bar l2 adapted to connect said described. shelves and sides and corner pieces together, In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in the bracket or hook plate casting I7, propresence of two Witnesses.

5 vided with the inclined projections or prongs WILLIAM B. MANNING.

18, and the detachable bracket or hook 14 v Witnesses: provided with the ear and pin` projections J. CHARLES MOORE,

adapted for insertion into said bracket plate HERBERT M. HORTON. 

